Where else would we hammer around in the granola crowd's go-to gas hog? Portlandia, of course. Our video crew puts the Forester through the paces, and found that it's more comfortable and more efficient--and maybe even a little fancy for diehard Subie fans. Also, there may have been Voodoo doughnuts involved.

We also took part in Subaru's major media launch of the Forester here in the U.S., and called it "an official coming-out to the mainstream," an evolution that made the Forester "at last, a direct rival again to the likes of the RAV4 and CR-V, as well as the Ford Escape and others."

Before that drive, we'd had a chance to sample the Forester overseas, on a preview drive in Japan. The technical backgrounder and early turn at the wheel left us with a clear take: "at last, fits into the mainstream. And before you pass judgment, we think that’s a good thing."